Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum on early shooting struggles: ‘Just trying to figure it out’

Tatum's averaging 23.5 points per game on .389/.329/.755 shooting splits to start the season.

Jayson Tatum's had a rough start shooting to start the season, especially around the rim. (AP Photo/Matt Strasen)

By Conor Roche

3 minutes to read

The start of the 2021-22 season has been a bit of a strange one for Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

Tatum opened it up with a 7-for-30 shooting performance in a double-overtime loss to the Knicks, and he hasn’t had back-to-back games of good shooting through the first 11 games.

So far, Tatum’s averaging 23.5 points per game on .389/.329/.755 shooting splits, which are all at least 6 percent down from how he shot in those areas last season.

Tatum struggles most with his shots around the rim. Last season, he made 73.5 percent of his shots within three feet of the basket. So far this season, he’s shooting just 52.5 percent on such shots.

Advertisement:

While so far this season, Tatum’s shooting slightly less at the rim (16.4 percent of his field-goal attempts this season have been at the rim vs. 19.7 percent last season), he doesn’t believe he has to do anything different to start getting those to fall.

“I think it’s just as simple as I need to make more shots,” Tatum said. “I’m getting to the rim, I think.”

There were a couple of changes over the offseason that could explain the drop in shooting for players across the league. First, the NBA cracked down on “abnormal, abrupt, or overt movements” by offensive players in order to get fouled and shoot free throws. The other is the ball change, as the league began using basketballs provided by Wilson this season after using basketballs provided by Spalding for decades.

Advertisement:

With his shots not falling as much as they have in the past, Tatum admitted he’s still trying to find some consistency.

“Just trying to figure it out, along with myself and everybody else in the league dealing with all the new changes with the rules to new coaches and new teammates,” Tatum said. “It’s still relatively early, but I think it’s just a part of it — everybody just trying to figure it out.”

An added obstacle for Tatum over the last week is the loss of Jaylen Brown, who’s missed two games and is expected to be out a bit longer due to a hamstring injury. With Brown and his 25.6 points per game out of the lineup, Tatum acknowledged it’s a bit tougher for him, but he’s happy for the players who get to play in his place.

“I think more so for the rest of the guys — it gives Romeo [Langford], it gives Aaron[Nesmith] — it gives those guys more of an opportunity with JB out. I think for me — just to continue to be myself. I think I draw even more attention when he’s not out there, but I think everybody else gets to step up and fill in. Obviously, we miss him when he’s not out there, but we’ve got to try and figure it out.”

Advertisement:

One thing Tatum and the Celtics have figured out recently is their play on the defensive end. In their first five games, the Celtics were 23rd in the league in defensive rating. They’ve turned it around a lot in their last four games as they have the best defensive rating in the league over their last four games (93.9). The Celtics have gone 3-1 in that stretch, with their only loss coming to the Mavericks on a buzzer-beating shot.

Tatum recognized that their play on that end of the court has made it easier for the Celtics to win.

“We’ve got to be tough,” Tatum said. “I think that starts on the defensive end. In the last some-odd games or so, I think we’ve really been playing well on that end. Obviously, we wish more shots would fall but I think it’s starting to come together as a collective on the defensive end.”

After struggling on that end to start the season, Tatum thinks continuity has helped the Celtics up their play on defense.

“I think it’s just over time,” Tatum said. “The more time that we spend with each other, the more game film we watch, the more comfortable we get. The more trust that we have built up with the more time we have spent together. Hopefully, after the next 10 games, it’s better than what it is today.”

Advertisement:

As the Celtics sit at 5-6 entering Friday’s game against the Bucks, Tatum’s not letting the losing record define how well of a job Ime Udoka has done to start his head coaching.

“Obviously, we see each other every day. Just spending more and more time together and a lot more time talking,” Tatum said of his relationship with Udoka. “I think he’s doing a great job. I could only imagine how tough it is to be a first-year head coach and everything that comes along with it. I trust him and respect him. He does the same with myself and the other guys. We believe in him.”

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com